Two churches share De Goede Herderkerk in Huizen
The Protestantse Gemeente Huizen and Celebration Church Huizen enter into a cooperation.
De Goede Herderkerk in Huizen is now used by two different churches. On Sunday morning, the Protestantse Gemeente Huizen holds one of its three church services here every week. In the afternoons, Celebration Church uses the building for its 4:00 pm church service. “It is so nice to see how church walls are now being broken through in a very practical way,” says Leadpastor Sebastiaan van Wessem of Celebration Church.
Tuesday 29 September was the day: Kees de Kok (elder church steward of De Goede Herderkerk), Ronald Kranenborg (secretary of the Dutch College van Kerkrentmeesters) and Sebastiaan van Wessem (Lead Pastor Celebration Church) signed the agreement. From now on, the two churches will be sharing the Goede Herderkerk, which is known in Huizen for the image of the Good Shepherd in a beautiful stained glass work of art. Van Wessem: “What we did not consider possible when we started in Huizen in 2015 has now happened. Two churches use one church building. Even though there are differences, we can now celebrate our unity in Christ together. ” The Protestant Community in Huizen is also pleased with the cooperation. “The cooperation makes visible what is said so beautifully in a church hymn: a place for each of us. A place to be, a place to be a witness of Him, a living evidence. Just as was intended more than fifty years ago – when the church was inaugurated. The church building is now also being used more intensively ”, says Geertje de Vries, pastor of De Goede Herderkerk.
About Celebration Church
Celebration Church Nederland is an international congregation with meetings in Hilversum (Dutch and English) and Huizen (Dutch). The Huizen location started in 2015 and was previously located in the Huizermaatschool and later the Prinses Irene Muziekvereniging. Due to the corona restrictions, the church has been looking for a larger building to continue organizing their meetings. The mother Church of Celebration Church is located in the USA, Florida.